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ARMFIELD'S SOUTH PLACE HOTEL , FINSBURY , LONDON , E . C , This new and handsomely- furnished Hotel is now FULLY I ICENCED . Its posiiion is c ntral , and charges are internee ; the sanitation is perfect . Parsenger lift to each floor . SPECIAL CONVENIENCE FOR MASONIC LODGES , DINNERS AND CINDERELLAS .

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TTTANTEDGOLD EMBROIDERESSES . GEORGE KENNING & SON , LITTLE BRITAIN , CITV .

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Illustrated Tariff Post Free . FUNERALS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION . LONDON NECROPOLIS Co ., 188 , WESTMINSTER BRIDGK ROAD , 2 , LANCASTER PLACE , STRAND .

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CANNON STREET HOTEL , CANNON STREET , E . C . RITIER & PUZEY , PROPRIETORS . SPACIOUS AND COMMODIOUS ROOMS FOR LARGE OR SMALL MASONIC LODGES , AND BANQUETS , M EETINGS , AUCTIONS , BALLS , CONCHUS , ARBITRATIONS , ClNDERELLAS , ETC . W . G . FENELEY , MANA ' GKR .

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» -p H O M A S MORING , Established 1791 . SEAL ENGRAVER , HERALDIC PAINTER , & c . 52 , HIGH HOLBORN , LONDON , VV . C . ILLUMINATED ADDRESSES IN THE BEST STYLE . MASONIC AND HERALDIC BANNERS . Send lor Specimens of High Class Stationery , Visiting Cards , and Dies gratis . Also gratis on application : —Book of Examples of Monumental Brasses , nd Specimen Book of Brass Door Plates . Catalrgue- of Seal Engraving , etc . ( U'usttated ) , ( J stamps

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T R . RICHARDSON , KINGS rON-ON-THAMES , \\ i : i exhibit his We 1 Id-Renewned j LOVELY FLIES AND WHOLE CANE RODS , AT THE ROYAL AQUARIUM , WESTMINSTER , From March nth to April 16 th , iSg 6 .

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QTAGE LADIfcS & GENxLEMEN Ii "sirous of entering ihe Iheatiical Profession in , , 'ama , Comedy , Comic Opera , or Music Hall , apply for 11 : 1 ms to . MR . CARLTON ST . AUBYN , U ra F Olympic Theatre , Royal Aquarium Theatre , "iratre Royal , Scarboro' , & c . ( Letter lor interview ) . Mr . CARLTON ST . AUBVN , -cno 0 ' of Dramatic Art , 87 , New Oxford-street .

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p ANK H ASWELL e ... ( EBTAB DISHED 1 M 7 ) , . e nVfl GLASS WRl'IEK TO THE TRADE . 4 . » UH 0 STREET , OXFORD STREET , LONDON , W . ARTISTIC WRITER TO THE - ^ _ . FINE ARTS .

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M r yO's CASTLE HOTEL , ( Ad' ' MD 1 ESEY ' HAMPTON COUKT STATION joining the RAILWAY , and facing the RIVER and PALACE ) . ' »> an BR 0 ' J 0 HN MAY 0 es ' * £ eH a " < "Iation in the new wing of this old-. "iber up f" no , cd Overside Hotel for Banquets for any lnis - W ;„ , T £ ve , v convenience for Ladies' Gather-Wl start «; . ndln K « ° river , whence Steam Launches a ' , * atio ' n ? - , ° f Menus , with prices , sent on Terence mavh L ? dges lncet at thc Castlc HotcL and -kring , & c y De m !» de to the respective Masters as to the

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p AIETY RESTAURANT STRAND .

LUNCHEONS ( HOT AND COLD )

At Popular Prices , in BUFFET and RESTAURANT ( on First Fluor ) , also Chops Steaks , Joints , Entrees , & c . in the GKILL ROOM

AFTERNOON TEA

Consisting of Tea or CoiTee , Cut Bread and Butter , Jam , Cake , Pastry , ad lib ., at Is . per head , served from 4 till 6 in RKST . IURANT ( First Floor ) .

DINNERS IN RESTAURANT

From 5 30 till 9 , at fixed prices ( 3 s . Gd . and 5 s . ) and a la Carte . In this Room the VIENNESE BAND pec forms from 6 till S Smoking after 7 . 45 .

AMERICAN BAR

THE GRILL ROOM

is open till 12 . 30

PRIVATE DINING ROOMS for large a ,. d small Parties .

SPIERS & POND , Ltd ., PROPRIETORS

, , , . . .

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NORTHERN ASSURANCE COMPANY . Established 1836 . .

LONDON : 1 , MOORGATE STREET , E . C ABERDEEN : 1 , UNION TERRACE .

INCOME AND FUNDS ( 1894 ) . Fire Premiums ^ , 701 , 000 Life Premiums 232 , 000 Interest 1 / 1 , 000 Accumulated Funds ... ^ £ 4 , 444 , 00 . 3

.

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

J . B . —There . is no objection whatever to the plan which jour W . M . elect is de irous ot carrying out . Miny lodges , on their annual installation nights , nuke a poinc ot having a special musical entertainment , and it by no means infrequently happens that among those who take part either vuoily or intliumemally in the entertainnrtnt are ladies

and gentlemen , tor who ; e atcominodation a separate ri'oin is provided . When their turn comes to sing or play , they are ushered into the dining lull , and when tney have djne their part they r tire to their room . Thus they neimer know or see anything of the strictly Masonic part ot the ptocctdings .

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SATURDAY , MARCH 21 , 1896 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

It is evident from the letters we invariably receive after the report cf a Festival of one or other of our Institutions with its accompanying " Stewards' Lists '' and "Analysis of Return . " , " has appeared in these columns that the vaguest notions prevail in the minds

of seme of our brethren as to the nature and extent of the responsibility which devolves upon us in connection with Ihe lists . It may be as well , therefore , if we state that our responsibilily is limited to the accurate

reproduction of the information which is furnished to us by the Secretaries , who kindly and courteously afford us every facility for obtaining the Returns at the earliest possible date .

We have nothing whatever to do with the compilation of the Returns . We have nothing whatever to do with the distribution of the Stewards under London and the different Provinces they represent . We do not enter their names against the lodges or Provinces they

Masonic Notes.

act for , neither do we furnish the amounts which appear against their respective names . AH this is done by the Secretarial Staff of the Institution in whose behalf the Festival is held . We copy the Returns as prepared b y them and reproduce them in the Freemason , and if our copy or reproduction is inaccurate , the blame to that extent and no further , is ours .

The Returns thus furnished by the Secretaries form the basis of those Analytical Articles which for the last 12 or 13 years have appeared in respect of every Festival which has been held . The responsibility for those Articles rests entirely with us , and whenever it has been shown that we have mis-stated a fact or that any opinion we have expressed is not justified

by the circumstances , we have never hesitated to make the amende honorable as speedily and as fully as possible . As for anything in the nature of harsh criticism , we have always recognised that in the case of contributions voluntarily given to a Charitable Institution , remarks of such a character must be , to use the mildest form of expression , entirely out of place .

We have said that the vaguest notions appear to prevail in the minds of some brethren as to the nature and extent of our responsibility for the lists or Returns as published in these columns . Here , for instance , is a brother who writes that the statement in our Analysis of the Returns at the recent Benevolent

Festival as to Worcestershire having been " saved from the absentee list " at the last moment by Bro . T . R . Alter is hardly the fact , on the ground that he—a member of a Worcestershire lodge—had placed , £ 5 5 s . on the list of a brother representing a lodge in another Province . We commend our brother for his

contribution to the Institution . At the same time , we remind him of Hotspur ' s remark to h ' s wife , " I will believe thou wilt not utter what thou dost not know . " We knew nothing of his donation , and we ask him to believe that " we could not alter what we did not know . "

* * * But , even if we had been aware of his contribu tion Worcestershire , as far as he was concerned , would still have been unrepresented . A Province is " represented " when one or more brethren serve as Stewards for it

collectively ; when one or more of its lodges sends up a Steward or Stewards ; or when some of its members give their services as Stewards hailing from it , but Unattached . A donation which appears on somebody else ' s list outside the Province constitutes no claim for it to be returned as a " represented " Province .

Other complaints have leached us directly or indirectly , one being from a companion to the effect that credit was not given to his chapter for a donation which appeared upon some other list , while a brother suggests that donations from the Grand Lodge of an unrepresented Province and one of its lodges ,

amounting together to £ 63 , should be added to the Festival total . We have ascertained that these sums have been received at the offices of the R . M . B . I ., but as they form no part of the amount raised by the Board of Stewards at the recent Festival , we fail to see how the authorities of the Institution can act upon his suggestion .

* * * But , not to weary our readers with an excess of explanation , we ask those who favour us with these complaints or suggestions , to bear in mind ( 1 ) that the Returns represent the work done by the Festival Stewards ; ( 2 ) that they are furnished to us by the

Secretaries ; ( 3 ) that we know nothing whatever of the items contained in the lists j and ( 4 ) that we should be exceeding our duty if , without authority from the Secretaries , we took upon ourselves to return as represented a lodge or Province which sent up no Steward ; or to add to or subtract from the amounts of the several

lists . We are always ready to correct any mistakes we may be so unfortunate a * to make ; but vie dar mot alter the facts and figures which are supplied us for publication . * * *

We have been requested to publish either the whole of the report of the Executive Committee of the Order ol the Secret Monitor , which was adopted by the Grand Council in December last , or the more important paragraphs it contains . We trust we shall be able to find space for it in our next issue .

# * ? We have been requested to caution brethren agai :: st entertaining the requests for help of an elderly man who has been twice sentenced by London magistrates to hard labour as a rogue and vagabond , and is now calling at the private houses of brethren soliciting alms . The name on his card looks well , and is followed by the letters " B . A ., T . C . D . "